Never the Victim
by SilverLily aka Blood Moon
Summary: In one deadly night, a mother teaches her son a valuable lesson, and teaches him the true meaning of strength.


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Never the Victim

Summary: There are so many people out there who hold themselves as lower, poorer individuals who deserve nothing less of pure hell, and hold to it with a firm belief. Some believe they are too weak to pick themselves up and fight for anything. Some simply give up. One mother has different views on life, however, and in one deadly night she will teach her son the true meaning of strength. 

~ * ~

Eight year old Yuugi Motou trudged begrudgingly home, not wanting to see what he always saw whenever he walked through the front door. He also trudged begrudgingly home, not wanting to hear what he'd been beginning to hear whenever he stepped into his bedroom. 

Every family had their problems. Of this he was sure. How bad did some of them get? Katsuya at school would often wreak of beer, proclaiming to the teachers that it wasn't his, and yet refusing to divulge just where the smell had come from. 

Yuugi knew it was from his friend's father. He knew that Katsuya's only guardian had a drinking problem. 

How did he know this? Because of the sheer and simple fact that Mr. Jonouchi and Mr. Motou were drinking buddies. 

That's right. Yuugi's own father was developing a bit of a problem, too, bringing in the inevitable problems that can occur on the homestead. 

It had been getting a lot louder at home lately. It was becoming difficult to concentrate on his homework. He'd go to the library if he could, but he was only eight years old. His mother worried about him, and said that he could go when he was a few years older. Until then, he had to be home right after school unless he was over at a friend's house. 

Most of his friends were getting worried with his quiet demeanor at school, and instead of trying to find out what was wrong, they opted to look the other direction. It was simply problems at home. Why would they get involved where they did not belong? 

He stepped up on their front porch, hearing a door slam from somewhere in the depths of his home. It had started early tonight. 

His father had never been so bad. Normally, he was a rather nice person, but work was stressing him out severely. He wasn't receiving the blessing to go out to a bar all night long from his wife, and the only consolation he had was with the long neck bottle in his hand. 

And Yuugi's father wasn't a happy drunk. Oh, no. Not in the least. 

"Damn it, bitch! Get back here!" 

Yuugi winced, easing his way inside and tip-toeing to his bedroom unnoticed. 

"Don't you _dare_ call me a bitch, Yogosu! I will _not_ be talked to that way in my own house!" 

Yuugi's mother had always been a strong-willed woman who left men in their graves in her wake. She may have had a low energy level a times, but she was tenacious, and more stubborn than a mule. 

Yuugi shuttered when he heard a cupboard door slam, realizing they were in the kitchen. He also realized as he let his back-pack fall to the ground that he was probably going to go without dinner tonight. His mother usually brought something up for him if she and her husband had been fighting all night long, but tonight had started early. _Too_ early. Something was not right. It didn't feel _right_, as far as a normal night could go for the Motou residence. 

The fighting continued into most of the night, much like he had expected it to. They seemed to have moved from the kitchen, to the living room, all of the way to their bedroom after his mother declared that she'd had enough and was going to bed. 

Which only brought them closer to his room. 

"The beer, the vodka, the schnapps, the rum, and the whiskey is all leaving the house in the morning," he heard his mother reply. "I'm not doing this anymore. If you want to drink, my son and I are leaving. I'm not waiting around anymore. My mother always said that you can't wait for a person to change, and it just so turns out that she was…" 

Yuugi head a loud bang when something collided with the wall. Fear gripped his heart at what he heard next, never expecting to hear such harsh words come from his father's mouth. 

"Wrong. Bitch." There was the distinct sound of skin slapping skin harshly. 

Yuugi tried to cover his ears, wishing the walls didn't seem so paper thin when his mother cried out harshly. 

And then another loud bang, followed by another harsh cry of pain. Yuugi cried as the beating continued, going on longer than he cared to remember. His father had never done something like this before. Never. Why had he done it now? 

"_Fuck!"_ his mother screamed, and then he knew this time that it was her body that was getting pounded into the wall. 

~ * ~

Yaoki Motou starred after hatefully as he husband left the bedroom, stumbling his way past. 

"Think you're going to take our son somewhere, do you…" she heard his drunken voice filter her way. 

Her lavender eyes grew suddenly wide. No, he wouldn't… Her heart sank when she heard his feet pad down the hallway towards Yuugi's room. 

She looked back at her closet, holding her now fractured arm close to her chest. Never, _ever_ was she going to let someone hurt her son. Never. This man had crossed the line tonight. 

Panic gripped her as she struggled to her feet, blood pouring out of her many gashes and cuts and bruises. She had never told anyone about it, not even her husband when they had first gotten together. She had always been either suspicious of other's actions or intents, or she was _extremely_ protective. 

Her devoted father had given it to her on her wedding day. She remembered his words as his aging lavender eyes glittered with pride, love, and concern in her memory. _Use it in good health…_

She grabbed the twelve gage that was hidden in the back corner, out of site behind her massive pile of shoes. 

Stumbling out into the hallway, she saw that her son's door way open, and Yuugi was cowering on the bed as his father walked over closer. 

She drew the weapon up high, confident in her aim. "Yuugi," she croaked, leaning against the wall for support, getting her blood all over the white paint. "Get down!" 

Her son's wide violet eyes starred up at her in disbelief, his instincts jumping in as he jumped off the bed onto the floor, flat on his stomach. Her husband was not quite so fast as his brain was clouded with alcohol. 

She pulled the trigger, and in one loud bang he found himself on the floor, the bullet having gone straight into his heart, fanning out like the buck-shot does to literally explode all of the flesh it came in contact with. He was dead instantly. 

Dropping the gun to the floor, she dragged herself over to her whimpering son, falling to her knees as he wobbled up, holding him close to her bloodied chest. 

"It's all right now, Yuugi. You're going to be okay." 

"Why," he cried, attempting to hold back his sobs. 

"Listen to me, Yuugi. Listen to me." She rubbed his shoulders and urged to him look into her eyes. "This is very important, you _must_ listen." 

He nodded tearfully. 

"I never, _ever_ want you to let someone hurt you, Yuugi. Everyone has a divine animal right to protect not only their life, but the life of their offspring. Do you understand?" 

Another nod. 

"There are some people out there who do not fight for their own lives, Yuugi. But you, listen to me, _you_ are stronger than that. You will _never_ be the victim, do you understand? _Never_. N-never…never give up what you're fighting for, and _never_ let someone rule you." 

Yuugi noticed as her speech became slurred, her eyes beginning to close slightly. She had lost a lot of blood. 

"Promise me," she pleaded, urgency as he'd never heard before. "Promise me you won't forget just how strong you are. And promise me that you will put up a fight for your life, Yuugi."   
  
"I promise," he choked. 

"Good boy," she smiled, resting fully now against the wall. "Go call 911, Yuugi. Tell them what happened, and tell them to come quickly." 

~ * ~

Police officer Tsuki Aino rushed into the house, stepping warily around shards of broken glass and smelling the pungent odor of beer.   
  
The house was utterly silent, not one light on as her and her partners made their way up the stairs. 

911 had received a strange phone call from a troubled young boy, stating that his father was dead, and his mother was badly hurt. Luckily he knew the address of his home, and had even urged the officers to come as quickly as they could. 

An ambulance was waiting outside, just in case. 

Mounting the top of the stairs, she was horrified at what she saw. There was an unmistakably large amount of blood on the walls and floor in the dim lighting, and flicking a light on as she walked further on, she saw a woman passed out against a wall, bloodied, with a teary-eyed boy holding on to her. Another body was out on the floor, the body large. Belonging to a male, if she wasn't mistaken. 

The dead father, and what looked like the dying mother. The boy looked up at her with wide amethyst eyes, looking lost and forlorn. "M-my mom said he was going to hurt me…" 

Officer Aino fell to her knees, beckoning him over. He replied obediently. "It'll be okay now, hon. Don't worry. Everything will be all right." 

A medic raced past her, beginning to attend to the mother. She looked up at him, mouthing her question. He nodded. 

The woman was going to be all right. 

Standing, she led him out of the horrid room, noticing as she past the hallway again that there was a twelve gage rifle left carelessly on the floor, sitting in a pool of blood. 

Strong woman. In her pain she protected her one most precious possession. Her son. 

"Is my mom going to be okay," the boy asked. 

"She'll be just fine," the officer replied, truly hoping that no permanent damage had been done. "Just fine." 

~ * ~

Well, there you have it. …what do you think? 


End file.
